He was rated very highly a few years ago but then picked up a serious knee injury and has not been the same on the field. Also, according to people like Tim Vickery, he let the hype to get his head and has not developed as he should have. Has lost his place in the Brazil team to Oscar (the guy Chelsea want).
#AFC Wenger: "Podolski, Mertesacker, Van Persie, Koscielny & Giroud will not travel to Asia as they're not competitively ready. Chamakh vs City, nice.
Yeah but it looks like they are being uber super cautious. If we're talking a return to first team training in Septemeber. That means he will have been doing running/gym work for a good 10 -12 weeks before hand.
Surely Wilshere Song and Arteta are creative enough? What with the attacking promise of Giroud and Podolski, probably Walcott, probably not RVP, surely Arsenal dont need to add more to the creative side of the team? Even the fullbacks and Vermaelen are attacking-minded. 1-0 to the Arsenal should be more of a priority as I can say the defence just isn't good enough. Coq isn't worth the risk just yet, he should be developed. Do I think M'Villa is the right player? I dont know. However I was saying all season (before his tragic incident) that Fabrice Muamba is exactly the type of player that our team needs, its just a shame that he may never be the same again.
We have had this sentiment in a few threads now, and I think our bad luck with injuries in previous years make our fans super-cautious about being optimistic. On top of that fans are very reluctant to hope for improvement in players, in exactly the way that fans expect Scholls and Giggs to be able to play just as well this coming season as they did 5 years ago. There is a chance that neither will be able to play at all, without being a liability. A Player's decline is always under-estimated, similar to a player's rise. For me we do have a lot of unanswered questions in our team this year, but I don't think we should assume all the answers are "NO". Even if we only assume 50% "NO" we will have a cracking team, with a lot of depth verywhere except perhaps full-back and striker. Here is my list of questions and if you find yourself answering "NO" to more than 50% then you are probably being a little too pessimistic. 1. Is Giroud going to make the jump to PL football quickly enough for this season? 2. Is Podolski going to have a good first season in the PL? 3. Is Diaby going to have an injury free season and break through this year? 4. Is Wilshere going to come back as good as he was and stay fit for a good proportion of the season? 5. Now that Ramsey has had a whole season under his belt, is he going to kick on and become the player we all want him to be? 6. Is Gervinho going to improve this season with a season under his belt in the PL? 7(a, b). Will Gibbs or Santos or both step up and make LB their own with good performances? 8. Will Sagna come back and have a 40+ game season at RB for us? 9(a, b). Will Jenkinson or Coquelin, become a top full-back that can play left or right back? 10. Will Walcott stay at Arsenal and put in a good shift for us again this year? 11. Will be get another top class attacking player in, that can play wing or striker, to replace RVP if he is sold? 12. Will AOC step up and be a top class player this year, instead of a top-class substitute? 13(a, b, c). Will Bartley, Metersacker or Djourou be a solid cover at CB this year? 14. Will Bendtner stay and become a decent option off the bench this year? 15. Does Rosicky have one more top season in him? 16. Is there a young player (that we don't expect) that can break through this year and make the first team like in previous years? So there are 20 questions. Suit yourself how you answer them, but I sleep at night dreaming that all the answers are "YES".
Lol brilliant reply! You want to see my honest opinion on all the answers? 1. Is Giroud going to make the jump to PL football quickly enough for this season? Yes, he is a natural goal scorer. 2. Is Podolski going to have a good first season in the PL? No he is quite simply not good enough. 3. Is Diaby going to have an injury free season and break through this year? No, its Arsenal we are talking about haha 4. Is Wilshere going to come back as good as he was and stay fit for a good proportion of the season? Probably not, I think his injury will cause a 2-3 year setback. 5. Now that Ramsey has had a whole season under his belt, is he going to kick on and become the player we all want him to be? Depends what you mean by what you want him to be. He wont be outstanding but I can see him being far more consistent. It would also help if the fans got off his back next season. 6. Is Gervinho going to improve this season with a season under his belt in the PL? Gervinho never was or never will be good enough. For a guy so quick he slows the ball down so much and is wasteful in the final third. He is Downing standard. 7(a, b). Will Gibbs or Santos or both step up and make LB their own with good performances? Gibbs yes, slightly positionally unaware, yet still class. Santos isnt good enough. 8. Will Sagna come back and have a 40+ game season at RB for us? Hopefully he will have a good spell, he is a class defender. Vastly underrated. 9(a, b). Will Jenkinson or Coquelin, become a top full-back that can play left or right back? Jenkinson is the most inept defender I have ever seen. Coq looks to have something. 10. Will Walcott stay at Arsenal and put in a good shift for us again this year? If he stays he will be class again. 11. Will be get another top class attacking player in, that can play wing or striker, to replace RVP if he is sold? Can get someone to do a job, but he is irreplaceable. 12. Will AOC step up and be a top class player this year, instead of a top-class substitute? Far too early to risk him, Wenger was sensible with how he used him last season. I expect the same sense to be implemented as he isn't ready just yet. 13(a, b, c). Will Bartley, Metersacker or Djourou be a solid cover at CB this year? No, no, no. 14. Will Bendtner stay and become a decent option off the bench this year? Unsure, I can see him going on loan again. 15. Does Rosicky have one more top season in him? Top season? Probably not, but a similar season to this. 10-15 great games in him left I reckon. 16. Is there a young player (that we don't expect) that can break through this year and make the first team like in previous years? Maybe Miyachi? However I think I am letting the fact that he is fast make him better than he is.
I don't doubt he can get ready physically, I was more concerned by the mental side, confidence, judgement etc. (Hence the parallel with Ramsey)
Its more a confidence issue, gent. I think that it must have a huge negative impact on his morale knowing that he worked so hard to get where he was, and know a lot of his hard work has been completely negated.
Arsenal: Mannone, Jenkinson, Vermaelen (c), Djourou, Gibbs, Diaby, Arteta, Coquelin, Santos, Gervinho, Chamakh Subs: Szczesny, Fabianski, Bartley, Miquel, Yennaris, Eastmond, Song, Eisfeld, Aneke, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ryo, Afobe. Link: http://www.thefirstrow.eu/watch/131983/1/watch-malaysia-vs-arsenal.html
This pitch is well dodgy. We will do well do get through this game without any of our players picking up injuries.
